Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
The invention relates to joint prostheses. More particularly, the invention is directed to tibial components of knee joint prostheses that can be configured to be either rotatable or non-rotatable.
Joint replacement surgery is quite common and it enables many individuals to function normally when otherwise it would not be possible to do so. Artificial joints usually comprise metallic, ceramic and/or plastic components that are fixed to existing bone.
Knee arthroplasty is a well known surgical procedure by which a diseased and/or damaged natural knee joint is replaced with a prosthetic knee joint. Typical knee prostheses include a femoral component, a patella component, a tibial tray or plateau, and a tibial bearing insert. The femoral component generally includes a pair of laterally spaced apart condylar portions, the distal surfaces of which articulate with complementary condylar elements formed in a tibial bearing insert.
The tibial plateau is mounted within the tibia of a patient. Typically, the tibial bearing insert, which is usually made of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), is mounted upon the superior surface of the tibial plateau. The geometry and structure of the tibial bearing insert varies depending upon the needs and joint condition of a patient. Some tibial bearing inserts are designed to be used with joint prostheses that are implanted during procedures that retain the cruciate ligaments. Others are implanted after removal of the cruciate ligaments, and are thus structured to compensate for the loss of these ligaments. Yet other tibial bearing inserts are used with prostheses that provide enhanced stabilization to the knee joint. In addition to the geometry that may be assumed by a tibial bearing insert of a joint prosthesis, the tibial bearing insert may be designed so as to be fixed or rotatable with respect to the tibial plateau upon which it is mounted.
Rotatable knee prosthesis may be indicated in cases where a surgeon believes that forces placed on the prosthesis during normal daily use may lead to abnormal contact or the displacement or dislocation of the insert from the tibial tray. To accommodate these forces, and to reduce the chances for dislocation, some tibial components of knee prostheses have been designed to allow rotation of the tibial bearing insert relative to the proximal or superior surface of the tibial tray about the longitudinal axis of the prosthesis. Such rotation can increase the contact area between the femoral condyles and the tibial bearing insert throughout the range of knee motion, thus reducing stress on the tibial bearing insert.
Various designs for rotatable tibial components of knee joint prostheses are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,893 (Noiles) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,553 (Noiles) disclose knee joint prostheses in which the tibial component comprises a tibial plateau having a bearing surface with a recessed region within which the tibial bearing insert may rest. Sufficient clearance is provided in the bearing surface of the tibial plateau to allow some medial-lateral rotation of the tibial bearing insert with respect to the tibial plateau. Other patents that disclose tibial components of knee joint prostheses in which a tibial bearing insert is rotatable with respect to the tibial plateau are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,216 (Winters); U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,438 (Jones et al); U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,283 (Pappas et al); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,311 (Cipolletti).
It is not normally possible for a surgeon to make a final determination in advance of surgery the type of knee prosthesis system that will best suit a patient. This decision usually is not made until the condition of the knee is assessed in the course of surgery.
As a result of the numerous candidate designs for knee joint prostheses, several prosthesis components of differing designs may be used or trialed during a surgical procedure before the appropriate components are selected. Accordingly, a large inventory of parts is required during a joint replacement surgical procedure, thus adding to the cost of surgery.
Despite the existing designs for knee joint prostheses having a rotatable tibial component, there remains a need for prostheses that allow rotation of the tibial bearing insert to accommodate the stresses placed upon the knee. At the same time, such tibial bearing inserts should possess sufficient axial securement so as to decrease or eliminate the possibility of subluxation of the tibial bearing insert.
It would thus be advantageous to provide a joint prosthesis system that utilizes modular prostheses components that are able to be configured to form either rotatable or non-rotatable prostheses from the same collection of modular parts. Such a system would effectively reduce the overall inventory count and reduce the inventory carrying costs associated with joint replacement surgery.
The present invention provides a rotatable knee joint prosthesis system which utilizes modular components to enable the prosthesis system to be made rotatable or non-rotatable.
The prosthesis system of the invention comprises at least one tibial bearing insert which has a top, articulating surface with at lease one concavity formed therein, and a bottom, mating surface. The bottom, mating surface includes at least one elongate dovetail element, which can be either a male or female dovetail element. Preferably, a bore is substantially centrally disposed in the tibial bearing insert, and it extends from the top to the bottom surfaces thereof.
The system also includes a tibial plateau which has a bottom, bone engaging surface and a top surface having a substantially centrally located tibial plateau bore. The top surface of the tibial plateau also includes at lease one complementary dovetail element that is slidably matable with the elongate dovetail element of the tibial bearing insert. Mating of the dovetail elements of the tibial bearing insert and the tibial plateau joins these components together in such a way that the tibial bearing insert is non-rotatably mounted to the tibial plateau. The system may also include an elongate securing member that is mountable within both the tibial plateau bore and the tibial bearing insert bore to prevent any linear movement (i.e., translation) of the tibial bearing insert in the medial-lateral and anterior-posterior directions independent of the tibial plateau. The elongate element can be in the form of a bolt member or a relatively small diameter dowel.
In another embodiment, the components of the prosthesis system can be configured to form a modular, rotatable tibial prosthesis component. This embodiment utilizes an essentially identical tibial bearing insert structure, which is joined to a rotating platform base and a tibial plateau. The rotating platform base has a bottom, articulating surface that includes a mating stem member extending distally therefrom, and a top surface that has a substantially centrally located rotating platform base bore. Further, the top surface of the rotating platform base includes at least one elongate complementary dovetail element that is slidably matable with the dovetail element of the tibial bearing insert such that the tibial bearing insert is non-rotatably mounted to the rotating platform base. This system also includes an elongate securing member that is mountable within both the rotating platform base bore and the tibial bearing insert bore to prevent any linear movement (i.e., translation) of the tibial bearing insert in the medial-lateral and anterior-posterior directions independent of the rotating platform base.
The tibial plateau includes a top surface with a mounting cavity formed therein and a bottom surface having a bone engaging mounting stem extending distally therefrom. The mounting cavity has dimensions that are sufficient to accept the mating stem member of the rotating platform base such that the rotating platform base is able to rotate in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction relative to the tibial plateau.
The modular prosthesis system of the invention may include a variety of components that are present in different sizes and geometries. That is, the system may be provided with different sized tibial bearing inserts, and tibial bearing inserts having structures and functionalities that render them useful for different patient conditions. Kits provided to surgeons may include a sufficient number of components to allow assembly of a rotatable or non-rotatable tibial component prosthesis.